Product Family
The SONAbeam product family comprises several models, differentiated by
bit rate and rated operational range. SONAbeam links can be engineered
to provide link availabilities up to 99.999% over rated ranges from 50 m
to 5000 m. We have collected and analysed weather data and link performance
from SONAbeam installations around the globe, in order to provide carriers
and operators with the guidance and design tools needed to design and deploy
metropolitan data networks and cellular/PCS backhaul with FSO links. Contact our
Sales
team for a custom Link Analysis based on your microclimate. For
less critical applications that can tolerate occasional (rare) severe-weather
outages, systems can be deployed at longer ranges, or lower-cost products
can be used.

The SONAbeam family of products offer bit rates from 1.5 Mbps up to 2.5
Gbps spanning Ethernet, Fast Ethernet to Gigabit Ethernet and beyond.
The latest series, the 1250, is rate adaptive from 34 Mbps up to 1.5 Gbps.
The entire SONAbeam product line is protocol independent for seamless
integration into any network and offers fiber-like
connectivity at distances up to 7 km.

Technology Advantages
Characterized by its outstanding design and manufacturing quality, the SONAbeam
product line is built on a foundation of superior technology, conferring
numerous advantages over competing products:

Eye-Safe 1550 nm Wavelength: SONAbeam systems are completely
eye-safe even if viewed directly in front of the laser transmitter windows,
because they use 1550 nm laser technology. Light at this near-infrared
wavelength is absorbed by the cornea and lens and does not focus onto
the retina. This simple fact allows our 1550 nm based lasers to be classified
as truly eye-safe (Class 1M) while transmitting intensities that up to
50 times greater than would be permitted for wavelengths near 800 nm.
For example, our medium-range OC-3 product (155-M) generates a total peak
laser power of 640 mW, compared with about 20 mW for most other FSO products,
using the 800 nm wavelength region.

Higher Laser Power: The transmit power advantages conferred
by the 1550 nm wavelength translates into much higher performance - SONAbeam
systems can be engineered to operate over longer distances, penetrate
denser fog for higher availability, support higher data rates - or any
combination of these benefits.

Scalability: Since 1550 nm is the wavelength range most commonly
specified for terrestrial fiber-based optical communications, the supporting
technical infrastructure for this spectral range is vast and growing rapidly
due to the multi-billion dollar investment being made every year in component
and sub-system development. The intense cost competition that characterizes
the fiber optics communications industry guarantees that new cost-effective
technologies will continue to offer improved performance, ensuring that
1550 nm-based FSO systems can grow along with the fiber-based networks
of which they are a critical element.

High Reliability: Building on our extensive experience in laser
communications systems for military and space applications, fSONA design
engineers have ensured that critical subsystems are manufactured using
high-reliability components. Reliability is further ensured by rigorous
vendor qualification and incoming inspection procedures, backed by exhaustive
testing in our in-house test facilities, where subsystems are severely
stressed and operational performance is validated at extremes ranging
from -50°C to 75°C.

Proprietary Technologies: The fSONA engineering team has incorporated
a number of significant advances in FSO technology into the SONAbeam
transmitter and receiver subsystems, enabling them to deliver improved
performance relative to competing systems. One example is our much higher
laser power, and the corresponding drivers and cooling systems that provide
both high power and high reliability. Other major enhancements have also
been realized, but cannot be openly discussed for proprietary reasons.